


Coming Home

by momoandzuzu18 (allofthatblood)



Series: Coming Home [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M, takes place a couple of years after Imbalance, though I gotta be honest I haven't read all of the comics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:14:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 18,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27517426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allofthatblood/pseuds/momoandzuzu18
Summary: A six month long trip to the air temples with a group of acolytes gave Aang (and Katara) time to think about their plans for the future. When he finally returned for a celebration at the Fire Nation Palace, Katara found it hard to be upset with him for his long absence in the face of his renewed commitment to their relationship.
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Sokka/Suki (Avatar)
Series: Coming Home [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2033077
Comments: 6
Kudos: 70





	1. Chapter 1

The Fire Nation was hosting a major celebration to mark the five year anniversary since Avatar Aang had ended the Hundred Years War. Originally, after a six month long trip with the Air Acolytes, Aang had planned to fly back down to the North Pole to personally escort her and Sokka to the celebration, after which, according to a letter he had written her shortly after he left, he was planning to take her away for a week, just the two of them, no Avatar duties barring any emergencies. However, just before she had been expecting him, word arrived that some things had come up and his arrival would be delayed again. Instead, Zuko had sent a ship for them just as he did for Toph. 

While Katara had been immensely sad that Aang was not there yet, she had been glad that the rest of her friends were able to spend some time together before the celebrations began. Sokka, in particular, was much more pleasant when Suki was around, and Katara hadn’t seen any of them for even longer than it had been since she’d last seen Aang. Zuko had been far too busy dealing with plans for the upcoming event, so the siblings had mostly spent their time with Suki and Toph while they waited for Aang to arrive. Katara had thought for sure that he would arrive shortly after they did, but days passed without any sign of him until the night before the first day of celebrations arrived. 

A banquet was being held to welcome the Fire Lord’s guests, and Katara couldn’t help but feel down as she got ready. While it was nice that Zuko always had them taken care of, from having the royal seamstresses make nice clothes for them, so that she had her choice from an entire rack of beautiful blue dresses, to sending people to do her (and Suki’s) hair and make up, none of this had been able to distract her from Aang’s continued absence. In fact, with her long, wavy hair styled neatly around her shoulders and her exquisite light blue silk gown hugging her curves, it was hard not to think about the way he would have reacted to her if he were there that night.

Looking around from where she stood at the front of the ballroom, Katara could see the face of every Fire Nation noble she had ever met in addition to many she hadn’t. People had traveled from all over for the celebration; though she and Sokka were likely the only two from the Water Tribes, there were people from the Earth Kingdom and people from the remaining colonies in attendance. All of the reds and greens and browns reminded her of the colonies, of Cranefish Town and, oddly, of the Morishita family the pair had met years ago and the vision of her and Aang’s future that they had triggered. It was beautiful, she thought, the way everyone mingled together cordially. Beautiful, and yet the absence of red and yellow and orange robes made her heart ache. 

“Stop being so sad,” a voice spoke suddenly from behind her, “He’s finally coming back today.”

Katara jumped a bit in surprise and then turned around to face Toph, who had left her in favor of exploring the bar shortly after they’d come down. She frowned at her friend doubtfully. “So he said.”

“He has to be here,” Toph insisted, crossing her arms. “Practically everyone he knows is in this room.”

Although Katara was inclined to agree with the logic behind that, Aang’s absence from her life had grown so long and had been extended so many times that she now felt apprehensive about believing him any time he said that he would return, fearful of being let down once again. “He keeps finding _something_ ,” she complained.

“Why didn’t you go with him?” Toph asked bluntly, stepping closer to her to give them a little bit more privacy. Though they had been in the Fire Nation together for nearly a week by then, they had not gotten a chance to discuss her reaction to Aang’s trip, with Sokka always around and always upset by discussion of Katara and Aang’s relationship and feelings.

“It was complicated,” Katara said with a sigh, considering how much of the story she should share. “At first he was planning to go with a bunch of the air acolytes on a trip to see all of the air temples, and he tried to tell me that it would be a bunch of meditation and spiritual stuff and they needed silence and peace, so I would be bored.”

“And then?”

“Well…” she trailed off, looking away as her cheeks flushed, “I got jealous and we had a fight.” Toph snorted at her, and Katara turned her head sharply to glare at her despite the fact that she was unable to see the gesture. “We didn’t completely make up before he left, but he’s written to me a lot and he hasn’t seemed upset. He’s been away for a _while_ , though. So much stuff came up while he was away. You know how it is when he travels, everywhere he goes is somehow in dire need of his help.”

“Hey, you’re the one who decided to be with the Avatar,” Toph countered, though they both knew that was not necessarily true. She did not _decide_ to fall in love with Aang any more than she decided to be a waterbender; it was simply who she was meant to be.

“ _The Avatar_ has been gone way too long this time,” Katara responded, only mildly frustrated by Toph’s lack of understanding.

“I’m sure he misses you just as much as you miss him,” Toph told her, causing Katara to look at her in surprise. “You two are disgusting.”

There it was. Katara smiled at her friend. “I hope so, but it seems like he hasn’t had time.”

“He’ll make time for you,” Toph reassured her firmly. “Besides, aren’t guys planning to go away together for a whole week? There’s no way he’d miss that.”

Katara opened her mouth, about to remind Toph that he hadn’t been able to make time for her for nearly half a year now, that she _wished_ it were that simple, when she was cut off by the other girl.

“He’s here now! Twinkletoes is here!” Toph exclaimed suddenly. Taking Katara’s arm, she pulled her friend towards the rear entrance to the ballroom where, presumably, she could feel Aang coming up the hallway. Katara felt her heart begin to pound in her chest as they emerged from the crowd near the stairs leading down from the hall above, in front of several guards who stood on either side of the entrance. Past them, she could see red and maroon armor and a flash of red and yellow robes. As they stepped onto the platform above the steps, a reverent hush fell over the crowd, no announcement of their presence necessary. Katara felt time freeze for a moment as her eyes raked over Aang’s body for the first time in half a year. It was hard to tell the true extent to which he had grown with him standing a flight of stairs above her, but she could tell that at 18, he was taller than Zuko now; that alone was enough to make her cheeks flush. He had changed into his formal robes since landing, which fit his new figure perfectly, hugging his broadened shoulders and chest. She sighed audibly, relief flooding her body at the sight of him. When his eyes scanned the crowd for her and found her at the front, one of the only ones in the room not leaning forward into a deep bow, his face absolutely lit up. She grinned back at him as Zuko stepped forward to address his guests.

She felt dazed as he spoke, unable to process most of what his short speech as she stared at the hard lines of Aang’s shoulders and arms. She both saw and felt him staring right back at her with dark eyes, and yet when Zuko turned to him, he did not hesitate in stepping up to offer a few of his own words to the crowd below. She caught some of it through her appreciation for the newfound richness of his deep ( _deep_ ) voice, but she had heard Aang’s speeches before as he thanked others for their support. What she _hadn’t_ heard before was the way his voice now seemed to caress every word he spoke, the way he sounded so… sexual. Turning to Toph briefly, she realized with a flush that she was probably alone in that opinion. 

As the crowd began to applaud, she snapped out of her hazy daydream. Aang and Zuko began making their way down to the crowd, Zuko murmuring something to Aang on the way down that made him flush and laugh. When they finally reached the bottom of the stairs, Katara stepped forward. Aang _was_ tall, much taller. He towered over her now, and when he grinned widely at her and moved in to hug her, he had to lean down as she stood on her tippy toes. Passively, she watched over his shoulder as Zuko smirked at their embrace before moving on to greet his guests.

“Hi, Sweetie,” Aang breathed into her ear, making her shiver, as his arms held tightly around her waist. She wrapped her own around his neck and felt the radiant heat of his skin beneath her hands, one of her favorite sensations in the world. 

“I missed you,” she replied tearfully. Breathing deeply, she took in his smell, so intimately familiar. After six months spent back with her tribe, it was then that she finally felt that she was home again.

“I missed you too, more than I could ever tell you,” he murmured softly. “You look gorgeous, Katara.”

She flushed at his compliment as he finally began to pull away, smirking at her. It was dizzying, seeing him again after so long, or perhaps being with him had always felt like this, and she was just no longer used to it. As he stepped back to put a respectable distance between them once more, his right hand slid down her arm, into her hand. “Come say hi to everyone with me.” When she looked surprised, his cheeks turned pink. “If you want to—It’s just—“

“Of course I want to,” she said, intertwining her fingers with his. He grinned at her, that bright, beautiful smile that took over his face that she hadn’t seen in far too long, and she felt her heart melt a little bit. Then his attention was on their friends, tackling first Toph and then Sokka and Suki with warm greetings and hugs as Zuko moved past them to begin his journey through the crowd of guests to greet. Katara stared past her friends at the attendees that night and considered why Aang had asked her to accompany him. Normally, at large events like these, she would spend time with Sokka, Toph, and anyone else present with whom they were familiar while everyone got a chance to meet the Avatar; while she was almost always by his side for travels, he tended to do the more boring, formal diplomatic Avatar things on his own, a pattern Katara had been fine with up until recently. She examined the side of Aang’s face as he said his goodbyes to Toph and Sokka, promising to catch up with them later that night. His jaw was so angular; much of the baby fat had melted off of his face during his time away, and he looked… different. He looked like a man, she thought suddenly, feeling herself blush. As Aang took her hand again to lead her away, she caught Toph smirking at her.

As they walked up to the first of many Fire Nation nobles, Aang stuck his hand out with a wide smile and a greeting, “I’m Avatar Aang, and this is my girlfriend, Master Katara.” 

* * *

Meeting so many different people in so short a time was harder than Katara would have thought; she felt bad that Aang had to do this so often, usually alone. It was over an hour before they reached the other side of the ballroom, and then, at the Fire Lord’s direction, the crowd flowed into the adjoining dining room, filled with large tables set for many people. Along with Sokka, Toph, and Suki, they made their way to the table Zuko was seated at and took their places at his side. Katara kept feeling Aang’s eyes on her; particularly now that they were not surrounded by different men trying to establish or improve diplomatic connections with the Avatar, she could feel the way he watched her, the way he kept turning his head just slightly to stare at her form. Given the rush of heat the changes in his own body brought on for her, she could understand his preoccupation and felt quite flattered. On the other hand, no one had seen him in months, and his friends were focused on him and would likely notice his distraction.

As everyone laughed and joked around the table, sharing stories from time apart as the servants began to bring out trays of salads, Katara leaned in to Aang’s side.

“Sweetie,” she said gently, grinning when his eyes darted up to her own. “You’re staring.”

His cheeks flushed as he looked into her eyes, his own grey orbs darkened and half-lidded. “Later,” he promised. “Tonight. I’ll come to your room tonight.”

“You better,” she teased, smiling, “But for now… someone’s going to notice you’re drooling.”

A quick wink confirmed their promise, and then Aang returned his attention with much more enthusiasm to their friends, who were engrossed in conversation around them. After that, it was she who had trouble focusing for the rest of the night.

* * *

Later that night, after everyone had returned to their guest rooms, Katara had just taken a bath and pulled on a robe when there was a gentle, familiar rapping at the glass balcony door opposite from her bed. Her heartbeat picked up as she moved towards it; on the other side of the glass stood Aang, still in his full formal robes, his glider folded up in his right hand as he waved to her with the other. 

“Hi,” she breathed as she opened the door up. 

“Hi, Sweetie,” he greeted her cheerfully as he rested his glider against the wall and then leaned in for a hug, the door closing behind them. Now, without the pressure of a massive crowd surrounding them, she was able to take in the way his strong arms felt wrapped around her, the way he nestled his nose into the top of her head because he was tall enough to do that now, the way the firm muscles of his chest were always so radiantly warm. They stood there in each other’s arms for a long moment, just taking one another in. Finally, his arms slid from around her waist as he stepped back, his grey eyes fixed on her. Now that they were finally alone, Katara felt at a loss for what to say; should she bring up their fight or just pretend everything was fine?

Eventually, she had to break the silence. “I’m sorry,” she said softly. He raised an eyebrow in confusion, so she continued, “For… before you left. I didn’t mean… well—“

“Katara,” he interrupted her, grinning reassuringly, “It’s okay, I know. That was six months ago, let’s not worry about that.” 

“Six months,” she repeated. “I can’t believe you’re here now.”

“ _I’m_ sorry that it took so long,” he admitted, leaning in to press a kiss to her forehead. His hands settled on her hips as he nuzzled against the side of her head, taking in the sweet smell of her hair.. “I never intended to be apart from you for _six months_.”

“I know,” she said, reassuring him now, “I’m not mad, Aang.”

He sighed in relief and his warm breath hit her ear, sending chills down her neck. “I’m really glad. I knew it would be hard, but I didn’t think it would be _that hard._ About a month in, I was just as frustrated as you were when I left,” he joked. Then, after a moment, leaning back just enough to look at her more seriously, he added, “I just felt so lonely.”

“What about the Air Acolytes?” she asked evenly.

“Katara, you know that they’re _no_ replacement for your company,” he told her gently. He pulled away then, his hands sliding from her as he began to remove his formal robes. She sat on the edge of the bed and watched as he shed layer after layer until he was just in his underwear. As he moved, she examined the way his muscles moved beneath his tattoos. His body looked exquisite, she thought, the way he moved so gracefully still, despite his size. It felt so strange and new to her, the way she had to crane her neck _up_ to look at or kiss him, the way he towered over her and, well, pretty much everyone now. 

She didn’t realize how hard she was staring until Aang’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts. “Like what you see?”

Her cheeks flushed deeply. He knew, she thought suddenly. Not just that his body had changed (it was his own body, after all), but the effect that it had on people, especially on her. Before she could respond to him, before she could stop herself from thinking that way, she was imagining the way the Air Acolytes might have flirted with Aang as he grew taller and developed broader muscles over the course of their trip, the way he might have enjoyed their attention to a degree she found less than appropriate.

“Sweetie?” He prompted, stepping closer. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry,” she said again, ducking her head as he sat down beside her on the edge of the mattress. She leaned into his shoulder, and he wrapped an arm around her instinctively. Taking a deep breath, she carefully considered whether or not she should venture back into this minefield of a conversation. “You know that I trust you, right, Aang?”

“Katara, I meant it, you don’t have to apologize. Of course I know that you trust me; you’ve put your faith into me more times than I can count. It’s not that I’m concerned about,” he told her, leaning back just enough to see her face. His eyebrows were furrowed as he spoke.

“What, then?” she asked quietly.

“I’m worried that it’s my fault when you have those doubts, that I’m not… I don’t know. I’m not doing something right.”

“Aang,” she breathed, reaching to take his hands, “Of course it’s not your fault. I’m in love with you, but so is most of the world. It’s just hard to share sometimes.”

He frowned slightly, running the pad of his thumb over the back of her hand. His hands were massive now, she realized idly. “I don’t want you to have to share me,” he said gently.

“I know, but that’s the reality of being with the Avatar,” she teased, “I was being a jerk about it before you left.”

“We were apart for _six months_ , Katara. I don’t want to be apart from you for that long ever again,” he told her adamantly. When she said nothing, he turned to climb into the bed, underneath the covers, holding a hand out in invitation for her as well. She joined him and cuddled into his side as he wrapped an arm over her waist. His skin was so warm against hers; he was _always_ so warm. “I can’t believe I’m going to get you alone for a whole week soon.”

“Oh, spirits, am I looking forward to that,” she agreed, “I haven’t slept the same since you left.”

“Me neither,” he murmured against her scalp, “I thought about you _every night._ ”

“I hope so,” she breathed, running a hand over his chest muscles. “Aang, you grew a lot.”

He laughed softly, the sound so beautiful in her ear after so many months without it. “I did,” he agreed. “You got a good look before, too.”

“You’re so irresistibly sexy,” she purred, leaning in to kiss his collarbone, “I couldn’t help but look.”

He groaned, arching his neck back as she trailed her lips up the center of his throat. “Katara,” he gasped, sliding his hand down to cup her rear end, “I missed you so much.”

“I almost didn’t believe my eyes when you walked in,” she continued, her voice low in his ear as she reached his jawline, “And your voice got so much deeper. You sound _so_ hot, Aang, and listening to you all night... It’s been torture.”

His body shivered against her as she nibbled on the soft flesh below his earlobe. “I feel the same way,” he spoke in a husky voice. With a sigh, she brought her hand to the nape of his neck to pull him in for a kiss, her thumb resting just under his newly defined jawbone. His lips moved easily against her own as he pressed his tongue into her mouth. She moaned when it slid against her own, tasting him for the first time in months. Sliding his hand up to the small of her back, Aang pulled her body tightly to his own, their hips pressed together so that she could feel his arousal.

“Aang,” she pulled away just enough to groan. 

“I love having this effect on you,” he admitted as she stared into his eyes, captivated, “You've been doing it to me for _years_ now.”

Katara laughed softly and leaned her head into his chest. She felt his nose press into her scalp, felt his chest rise as he inhaled deeply. “I’ve found you incredibly attractive for a long time, Sweetie.”

“Maybe,” he countered with a smirk, “But you’ve never _stared_ at me like that before.”

“ _Six months,_ ” she reminded him, thrusting her hips forward into his own for emphasis.

“I also thought you were even sexier than I remembered,” he breathed as he watched her pupils dilate, “And it wasn’t just that dress.” Slowly, his eyes trailed down to her chest, and then he reached for the tie on her robe, tugging at it coyly. “Are you wearing anything under here?”

“No,” she told him, her eyes locked on his own.

Taking a deep breath, Aang carefully untied the belt of her silk robe with a practiced hand. After, he slid a hand under the material to push it off of her shoulders, exposing the tan expanse of her chest. 

“You are so gorgeous,” he told her for the second time that night. His eyes swept over her sumptuous form, appreciating the way her breasts had grown even more since he had last seen them. Her nipples were hard in her arousal, and he cupped her breast and ran his thumb over the erect bud. In response, she groaned, leaning her head back in pleasure, the smooth column of her throat glowing in the moonlight coming in the window. Nuzzling into her neck there, he took a moment to place a few wet kisses to her skin. “I dreamed about this, the way you look in bed under the moonlight, so many nights while I was gone, Sweetie,” he sighed, shifting further down on the bed until his face was nearly level with her chest.

“Aang, please,” she whimpered and arched her back so that her chest pressed into his face. Carefully, he eased her down onto her back until he was leaning over her. She moved with him, melting into the sheets as he placed a trail of wet, open mouthed kisses along the valley between her breasts. She huffed his name again, and her nails dug into his shoulder as she tugged him closer. 

“Katara,” he hummed against her skin, “Patience. It’s been so long, let’s just slow down and enjoy ourselves.”

“Ugh,” she groaned in frustration, “Don’t push me, I swear, I’ll freeze you to the ground and sit on you.”

He laughed, his breath so tantalizingly hot against her skin. “I don’t doubt it. I’ll take that into consideration,” he teased, running his thumb over her hard nipple again, and she trembled under his touch. Finally, he replaced his finger with his lips, sucking gently at the sensitive bud as she sighed in pleasure. 

“Touch me,” she pleaded, and then she parted her legs beneath him to illustrate her request for him. Instead, his hand moved torturously slow over her ribcage, caressing her soft dark skin as he made his way down her side. Flicking his tongue lightly over her nipple, he slid his hand over her hip and between her legs, then raised his head from her chest with a gasp as his fingers found her center.

“Katara,” he moaned in amazement, sliding his fingers through her folds, “You’re so wet. Sweetie…”

“I _really_ missed you,” she insisted, raising her hips to meet his hand, “and then I just had to watch you all night long and I still couldn’t have you.”

Sighing against her skin, he began kissing his way to her other breast as his fingers circled her clit. She bucked against him, and he moved his fingers to prod gently at her dripping wet entrance. Katara moaned as he slid two fingers inside of her easily, her walls tight but slippery around his digits. Sucking gently at her nipple, he tried to suppress his desperation to be inside of her just then, eager to make her feel good first. She murmured unintelligibly, and one of her hands slid to the back of his head, gripping him tightly as his fingers pumped in and out of her entrance. So familiar was the sensation of his touch inside of her that she could feel the way his hands had grown in the size of knuckles, the _depth_ he was able to reach with his fingers now. Her whimpers beneath him spurred him on, and he ground his hips down against her thigh, illustrating how much he was enjoying their reunion thus far. Pleased with his arousal, Katara’s walls tightened around his fingers.

“ _Aang_ ,” she complained, suddenly turning towards him to swing a leg over his hips. He sighed when she thrust forward, pressing his hand tightly between their bodies as he worked it against her center. “I want you inside of me.”

“I told you, Sweetie, patience,” he sighed against her breast, placing another kiss there to punctuate his words. “I want to touch you, I want to make you feel good. I’ve missed this.”

“Me too,” she groaned as he subtly added a third finger to the first two, “But I’ve missed a lot more than this.”

He lifted his head just enough to look into her burning blue eyes. “Not until you come,” he told her firmly, gratified by the way her cheeks turned red at his words. 

“Aang,” she whined, her voice cracking as she moved her hips against him. Again, he felt her wet warmth quiver around his touch.

“How close are you?” He breathed, applying the smallest bit of added pressure as his thumb circled the point of pleasure between her legs, his fingers moving in and out of her rapidly. Instead of answering, she used her hand around his head to redirect him back to one of her breasts. He responded immediately, darting his tongue back and forth across the hard, sensitive bud, reveling in the way she cried out. Her hips thrashed into his hand as she chased her climax until her walls were pulsing around him, her fluid gushing into his palm as he buried his fingers deep inside of her. Kissing the side of her breast softly, he slowed the movement of his thumb against her clit until her muscles were still around his fingers once more.

“Oh wow,” she gasped, trying to catch her breath as he trailed his lips up the valley between her breasts. He grinned at her as he leaned up to kiss her briefly. When they pulled away, he left for a moment to clean his hand. Upon coming back he settled back down next to her, and she sighed as she cuddled against his chest, his arm winding around her waist to feel the smooth skin of her bare back. “Aang, your _hands_.”

“My hands?” He asked, pressing a kiss to 

her forehead idly.

“They’re huge now,” she murmured then placed a hand on his chest, admiring the newly developed muscle beneath her fingertips. She’d had his body memorized for years, and as he grew she often noticed his form changing but never this much at once. He felt so different in some places than she remembered; he had added a few inches while away, but she could also tell that he was stronger now, more muscular than he’d ever been. It felt intoxicating to be so close to him again, and she pressed herself closer to him, kissing his collarbone gently. Moving her hand from his chest to the waistband of his underwear, she gave them a gentle tug. Eagerly, he lifted his hips and took them off. Katara wrapped her hand around his hard cock, marveling at how he’d grown as she ran her fingers over his hard length.

“Oh, Sweetie,” he said quietly, reverently, his breath hitting her hair sharply as she moved, her thumb running tauntingly over the tip of his arousal.

“You really did have a growth spurt,” she marveled, continuing to stroke him as she glanced up into his eyes with a grin. Though it was not a huge difference, after the time she had spent over the past six months thinking about his body, she definitely noticed it. He was blushing, gazing down with parted lips at her hand as it moved, and she leaned in to kiss his neck gently. 

“Katara,” he sighed, and then, with an arm around her back, lowered her down against the mattress so that he was hovering over her, one arm on either side of her.

“You told _me_ to be patient,” she complained despite spreading her thighs beneath his hips as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

“And you were,” he purred into her ear, lowering his hips until his cock was pressed between her wet folds, “and we both really, really enjoyed it, and now I’m going to come in your hand if you keep touching me.”

“Oh, Aang,” she breathed, thrusting her hips up into his own, “ _please_.”

Balancing his weight on his left elbow, he reached between them and lined himself up with her entrance. Carefully, he pressed forward until he filled her completely, his eyes never leaving her own; though it was dark, he could see the intensity of the love and want in her eyes. When he found no discomfort in her face, he pulled his hips back before snapping them forward again, filling her in one fast, smooth motion. She groaned loudly in response, hooking her legs over the small of his back to hold him in place as he thrust into her repeatedly.

“Katara, you feel amazing,” he moaned, his right hand moving to her hip to hold her in place. She looked dazed, her eyes half closed and her mouth half open as she lost herself in pleasure. He could feel her nails digging into his back, her hips wiggling pleadingly beneath him as he filled her. “Tell me what you want, Sweetie.”

“Faster,” she begged, peeking her eyes open again to look at him. As he began to speed up his rhythm, he leaned in to catch her lips against his own, pressing his tongue into her mouth when it opened easily for him. He was still enthralled by her taste, the way her lips moved against his own, after having missed her kisses so dearly for months. Moving his hand to her breast, he marveled at the depth of the need and desire he felt for her and wondered how long it would take to feel sated, if he had ever been before. Beneath him, Katara moaned into his mouth at the sensation of his thumb running over her nipple, the vibrations reverberating through his own lips. He pounded into her repeatedly, gratified by the small _huff_ her breathing made each time he filled her. She felt so incredibly tight after so many months apart, but she was also impossibly wet. Between her first orgasm and the way he pressed into her, thoroughly, relentlessly, her wetness was spreading down her thighs, against his own thighs, dripping onto the bed, until the air was filled with her heady scent. It was his favorite smell in the world, so deeply erotic and intimate, a joy only he got to experience. He pulled away when he could no longer catch his breath, his heart racing with his intense arousal. Her breathy groan as their lips parted encouraged him to kiss her further, trailing his lips across her jaw as he panted, his hips thrusting into her own over and over.

“Aang,” she purred, “Just a little bit more.”

“You feel so good,” he murmured apologetically. She did, and she was right; he could feel himself getting close and closed his eyes as he tried desperately to hold back, to keep going. Licking his way down her neck, he found her pulse point, where he knew she was sensitive, and bit down, making her keen beneath him. Despite her protests, he could tell that she was not far behind. The muscles of her walls were beginning to quiver around him each time he filled her, her thighs shaking against his hips. “Spirits, Katara,” he gasped.

“Oh, I want to feel you come,” she breathed, her voice soft yet husky against his ear as she bucked her hips up into his own. “Please, I missed that the most, I want you to come inside me,” she rambled pleadingly.

Her words had her desired effect. He moaned against her ear, nipping at the skin along her jaw, and then he was coming, her name leaving his mouth over and over as he buried himself inside of her, wave after wave of pleasure washing over him. Katara’s nails sunk into his back, desperate whimpers leaving her lips as his cock pulsed inside of her, finally driving her over the edge as well. He gasped as he felt her walls begin to flutter around him through his own orgasm, her fluid gushing against him. When her muscles finally slowed around him, he made to pull back, but Katara’s legs tightened around his hips instead, keeping him inside of her. He grinned as he settled back over her.

“Aang,” she said simply, her voice barely above a whisper as she gazed up at him in amazement. 

“I love you,” he told her, leaning in to nuzzle her neck. “You’re so stunning. I can’t believe I finally get to have you again.”

“You’re stuck with me,” she agreed, turning to kiss whatever part of his forehead she could reach. “I don’t want to move.”

He laughed softly against her skin. “I figured as much,” he teased, “Here,” he said, and then he flipped them over, lying on his back with Katara sprawled on top of him. “Is that better?”

“Hmmm,” she agreed. Raising a hand to run his fingers through his wavy hair, he sighed happily beneath her. Her weight atop his chest was so comforting, so familiar, and she smelled so incredible, like herself and jasmine soap and sex. His chest hurt at the thought that he had left her for so long; he never wanted to be without her again.

“Katara, Sweetie,” he murmured into her ear after enjoying their embrace for a few long moments. His hot breath skimmed over the sweat drying on her neck, and she hummed neutrally in response. “I want to talk to you before we go to sleep.”

She peeked her eyes open at the serious tone in his voice, deep blue boring into him through the darkness. Finally, she shifted her hips out of his lap as she moved to lie down beside him. “What is it?”

As he sat up, her eyes furrowed in confusion. She tried to put her head in his lap, but he rested a hand on her shoulder to stop her. “Sit up, Sweetie.”

“Aang, you’re scaring me,” she said, scrambling up so that they were sitting across from one another, the blanket in their laps. “What’s going on?”

“Everything’s okay,” he reassured her, taking her hands in his own. Instead of looking at her, he focused his attention on her smooth hands, so small in his own. Slowly, he circled his thumb over the back of her hand in an effort to calm her down, and as she took a deep breath, she felt it working. “I wanted to talk about…” he took a moment to gather his thoughts and then glanced up at her eyes, fixed on him with absolute focus, and added, “About us and our future. I missed you _so much_ while I was gone, Katara.”

“I missed you too,” she responded unsurely. “Aang, what…?” 

“I was alone a lot, and I had a lot of time to think.” He paused for a second, staring out the balcony window at the courtyard below. “I started off the trip thinking that I was going to keep my personal life separate from my duty with the Air Acolytes.”

“You lied to them about us?” she asked, her voice raising in hurt. Quickly, his grey eyes flashed back to her own, and his forehead creased as he took in her features.

“No, of course not,” he said gently, “I was just trying to avoid talking to them about you all the time.” As her face softened, he felt heartened, and gave her hands a squeeze as he kept going, “I _did_ have a duty to them and to my culture, I still do, but I realized pretty quickly that trying to separate you from that is pointless.” After a brief pause, he added, “Do you have any idea how hard it was to meditate when I saw your face every time I closed my eyes? I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

“Oh, Sweetie,” she replied softly, her cheeks flushing.

“When I talked to the Acolytes about the plans for Republic City, about our plans for the island across the bay, they were so excited to help. Katara… I need you to be okay with them,” he pleaded, looking into her eyes desperately. “We need their help if we’re going to do this. I get that it’s kind of weird for you… well, that they’re mostly women, but—”

“I know,” she interrupted, gazing down, unable to take the distress in his deep grey eyes. “I know, it’s not about that, and I know how important they are to you. I feel so guilty; I don’t need the whole speech.”

He was quiet for a long moment as she stared down at their hands. His thumb had stilled against her skin, and the longer he went without responding, the worse she felt.

“I don’t want you to feel guilty,” he said finally, leaning in to rest his forehead against her own. His breath tickled her nose when he spoke. “I want… I want you to understand that I will only ever want you, Katara. I can’t control how the Acolytes feel or the way that they act, but I want you to understand, really understand, that I’m not interested in them or their attention in any kind of sexual or romantic way.” She opened her mouth to interrupt, but before she could he gave her hand a squeeze to signal to her to wait. “I _know_ that you don’t really think I’m going to sleep with them, but I also know that it still makes you uncomfortable that I enjoy being around them.”

She had no response to that; he had her there. It was involuntary, the anger and frustration that began to flare in her gut when she saw the Acolytes watching him with such rapt, devoted attention as he basked in their flattery. It reminded her in such a visceral way that he was not hers, not really.

“After the celebrations, after we go on our vacation… where do you want to go? What do you want to do?” When she looked confused instead of responding, he frowned. “Do you want to go back home?”

“Home?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “I don’t think I even know what that means anymore.”

They sat in silence as Aang searched her face. Finally, he confided in her, “I want us to go back to Republic City, and I want to build an air temple on the island. The Air Acolytes are really excited about the idea and they want to help, too, especially now that they’ve gotten a good look at exactly what our buildings and land looked like. I want to make our home there, Katara, but I don’t want you to feel…”

Before he was able to come up with the right word to describe what he was thinking of, she cut him off with a brief kiss. 

“I wasn’t planning to go back to the South Pole,” she told him firmly, “I’m not leaving you again, Aang.”

“I need you there,” he admitted, finally releasing her hand from his own as he moved to cup either side of her face, his thumbs running over the soft angle of her jaw. 

“I need to be there with you,” she agreed, leaning into his touch as her own hands slid over his shoulders. “We’re partners, Aang.”

Through the darkness, through her haze of emotions at their conversation, through the few inches of space between their faces, she thought she saw a tear rolling down his cheek.

“Yeah,” he finally responded, “We are.” As he moved back towards the pillows, he gestured for her to come closer, and she did until he pulled her into his lap, her knees on either side of his hips. “I would give absolutely anything up for you,” he breathed against her ear, “It means the world to me that you would never let me.”

“Aang,” she sighed, twining her arms around his neck as she shifted in his lap. He shivered as his cock began to harden again beneath her soft, wet lips. “I want you again.”

He chuckled, his breath tickling her neck as his hands moved over her back. “We have a long day tomorrow,” he reminded her, “Are you sure?”

She groaned, wiggling her hips against his own until his eyes shut in pleasure. “Don’t make me remind you how long it’s been.”

“Fifteen minutes?” he teased, pulling back to look into her eyes again. The mix of mirth and desperation there was so familiar, so reassuring, and he leaned in to capture her lips in a soft, sweet kiss. “I’ll stay up all night with you if that’s what you want, Sweetie,” he breathed as he pulled away.

“Maybe just one more time,” she said with a small smile, “You’ve had a long day today, too.”

“Anything at all you want. You feel so good,” he sighed, thrusting up against her. With a gasp, she raised herself onto her knees and reached between them to wrap her hand around his length. He sighed in pleasure at the contact, and then moaned loudly as she lowered herself into his lap, his length sliding into her as she moved until their pelvises were pressed together.

“Oh, I missed having you inside of me,” she breathed, shifting her hips back and forth over him, making his world spin, “Aang… I really can’t believe we get to do this for a whole week in a couple days.”

“Is that what our vacation is for?” he teased, his voice hoarse as her muscles twitched around his cock.

“Almost entirely,” she said confidently, her eyes lidded. Finally, she rose up again until his tip was just prodding at her entrance before sitting down all at once, drawing a strangled groan from his throat. 

“Katara,” he gasped. Unable to tease her any longer, Aang leaned in and caught her lips with his own, sliding his hands up her back, over her shoulders to cup her face. As she melted into their embrace, she began to move more quickly, rising and falling in his lap with sharp, panting breaths through her nose, which tickled his skin enticingly when she exhaled. Her nails dug into his back as she rode him, small pleased whimpers escaping her throat involuntarily. Finally, she needed to breathe and pulled away; he took the opportunity to kiss her, from her jawline to her ear before working his way down her neck. She sighed against him, and he raised his hips to meet her own, desperate to be inside of her; she felt so incredible around him, and not just the way she enveloped his length within her walls over and over. He had missed her arms wrapped around his neck, her dark skin, sweaty with exertion under his lips, and the soft, stunning way she moaned against him. Gently, he lowered himself back against the pillows, sliding his hands to her back to bring her with him. 

At this new angle, her breasts bounced in his face as she moved in his lap, and he craned his neck forward to take one of her nipples between his lips. Her breath hit the top of his head when she gasped, his tongue moving smoothly over the sensitive bud. As he moved one of his hands from her back to cup her other breast, rolling her nipple between his thumb and forefinger, he felt her slick walls tighten around him.

“Already?” He teased gently. She shivered as his hot breath ran over her sensitive wet skin, then smacked his shoulder underneath where her hand had been resting. Despite this, her hips did not falter in their rhythm as she rose and fell over him.

“Not yet.” She dug her nails into his skin as she pulled him closer until his lips met her nipple once more before sighing, “This feels _so_ good though.”

Instead of answering, he continued kissing her, trailing his lips to her other breast before lavishing that one with attention as well. She moaned, arching her back against him, and he scratched his nails up and down her back gently. When he felt her muscles twitch around his length again, he pulled back from her chest, shuddering with pleasure, and grinned at her whine of protest.

“Sit up,” he requested gently, his voice deep and husky. Her pupils dilated as she did as he said, resting her hands on his chest for support. With his back against the pillows and her sitting straight up in his lap, he was able to reach between them, his fingers searching for the sensitive spot between her legs. She cried out when his fingers finally found her clit, circling it again and again through the thick wetness collected there. As he touched her he could feel his own length stretching her entrance; Katara was riding him fervently, grunting softly with exertion with each stroke.

“Aang?” She asked. She sounded shaky and her voice was so soft, her eyes locked on his own.

“I’m right behind you, Sweetie,” he promised, moving his fingers rapidly against her. After a moment, he finally felt her thighs begin to quiver as she moaned his name, and then her muscles were pulsing around him, powerful surges that pulled him into his own climax. He murmured affirmations of his love into her ear as he came, tugging her down to his chest to get closer to her.

She kissed his neck gently, feeling his heartbeat surge beneath her lips. Cuddling against his chest, she peeked up to look at him and found him looking down at her as well, wonder in his bright grey eyes. Her heart nearly burst with the love she felt for him then, with the rush of happiness and comfort that always came with touching him and being with him. She took in his moonlight drenched features again: his angular jaw, his swollen lips, his sharp eyebrows beneath his arrow just slightly furrowed as he stared at her intently. 

Finally, Katara broke the silence between them. “What are you thinking about?”

As he smiled at her, his hand on her back began to scratch gently, following her direction without thinking as she arched into his touch. “You,” he told her simply, “You’ve been a beautiful young woman since the day I met you, but Katara… you look so… I don’t know how to describe it.”

She rolled her eyes, unable to keep herself from grinning, but he shook his head before she could say anything, reaching forward to cup her cheek.

“I meant that you just look more mature,” he said, flushing when she glared at him playfully. “Sweetie, I’m serious. Every time I look at you tonight...” he paused, his cheeks reddening further as he thought about his words carefully, “I can’t help but see the incredible woman you’re becoming and… well, the family we’re going to have together one day.”

Her eyes sparkled up at him despite her recent teasing. “I was thinking about that tonight too,” she breathed, “Especially looking at all the different nations tonight, coming together as one to celebrate. It feels like… the way things are supposed to be.”

Aang ran his thumb gently over her cheekbone, caressing her. His heart thumped in his chest as his eyes focused momentarily on the contrast between their skin in the moonlight. “I think so too,” he confirmed quietly, causing her to blush with pleasure.

Running her hand over his chest muscles, Katara took a moment to consider all that that implied. Obviously, Aang would never have his people back; that was not something either of them could change. However, deciding to be with her permanently, to make a home in Republic City, to have a family together one day… Those were all things that she didn’t imagine he ever considered to be part of his future as a young boy.

As if reading her mind, Aang put his fingers beneath her chin to tilt her head up just slightly, causing her eyes to meet his own again. “I’m excited to stop moving around constantly and just be in one place with you.”

His eyes on her own dared her to challenge him. Instead, she smiled softly at him. “Before I left, I told my dad that I’m planning on moving there more permanently when we get back.”

She quirked an eyebrow at him when she felt his muscles tense beneath her, a look of surprise on his face. “What did he say?” Aang asked hesitantly.

Katara grinned, amused by his nerves. “He was happy for me, mostly,” she told him, “And he definitely didn’t say anything bad about us living together, if that’s what you’re worried about. You know that he loves you, Aang.”

“No!” he replied right away, then paused to take a deep breath as she eyed him strangely. “No, I’m not worried about that. I just… didn’t know that you’d already committed to the idea.”

“Well, we practically spend all of our time there anyway,” she said, “I just wanted him to know what my intentions are, what _our_ intentions are, for the future. I don’t think anything I said was news to him though,” she added with a quiet laugh.

“What do you mean?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Then, she really locked her eyes on him inquisitively, half sitting up to survey his face. “I think it’s kind of obvious after six years. Why are you being so weird about this?”

“I’m not!” he insisted, reaching for her shoulders to gently tug her back down. Shooting him a final suspicious look, she cuddled back against his chest. “I think I’m just tired,” he added, his hand rubbing her shoulder comfortingly.

“Is something going on?” she pressed, her voice softer now. Her bright blue eyes bore into his own, filled with such love that he almost asked her to marry him right then and there, his plans for the week to come be damned. Instead, he shook his head and smiled reassuringly at her.

“Nothing at all,” he murmured, leaning in to kiss her cheek. “I meant what I said, Sweetie.” When she remained somewhat tense, he weighed his words carefully, his lips moving to her jaw. “I’m really, _really_ excited about this.”

With a soft hum, she melted against him, content with his reassurance. “I love you,” she purred sleepily.

“I love you so much, Katara,” he replied quietly, reaching out to gently move her hair out of her face. She looked so blissfully boneless slumped against him like that, her eyes closed peacefully, the tiniest hint of a smile on her lips. He lived for her, to see her like this in his arms in bed at night. As he drifted off to sleep beneath her, he thought of the lives they would have someday soon, once the air temple was constructed, once they were married.


	2. Chapter 2

“ _Now_ will you tell me where we’re going?” Katara asked him persistently. 

Aang shot her a playful glare in response. Instead of answering her, he continued to wave back at their friends standing below, gathered to see them off as they sat beside one another on Appa’s head. That was one of many things that Katara had determined was off about their trip; they had all just spent three entire days together at the Fire Nation Palace for a formal celebration of the five year anniversary of the end of the war and Zuko’s coronation, and her and Aang would only be gone for a week. Surely the Fire Lord and Lady had better things to do than stand around in the Palace courtyard to watch Appa take off, and since when did Sokka or Toph make themselves willing witnesses to her relationship with Aang? Also, she had been asking him where they were going for _three days_ and had still not gotten an answer.

“I’m going to figure it out once we start moving,” she insisted, “Unless you’re planning on blindfolding me.”

At that, he turned to her looking intrigued, one eyebrow raised as he reached for Appa’s reins. When she crossed her arms and glared not-so-playfully at him, he just laughed and yelled, “Bye guys! Yip yip!

Their friends’ shouted goodbyes were mostly broken up by the wind as they took off. As they flew through the air, Katara scanned his face for any sign of a hint, but he was just smirking slightly, chin slightly raised as he enjoyed the fresh air blowing past them. They were silent for a few moments, just sitting side by side comfortably as Katara carefully considered their mystery destination. Finally, she decided to try again, scooting closer until their thighs were touching.

“Where are we going?” she asked. He rolled his eyes, grinning despite himself at her persistence.

“Is it in the Fire Nation?” she pressed. “We’re heading south.”

“I’m going to fly around in circles to confuse you,” he warned with a devious grin. 

Katara gasped. “You better not!” 

“Stop asking so many questions, Sweetie,” he said, leaning in to kiss her innocently. “You said it yourself: you’ll find out soon enough.” 

“How soon?”

“ _Katara_ ,” he responded, laughing, “It’s only an hour or two at the most.”

“So it is in the Fire Nation,” she mused. 

“I just want to surprise you,” he told her, wrapping an arm around her to pull her in close. Despite his lowered, husky voice, she seemed unswayed.

“You know that I hate surprises,” she complained, leaning in to nuzzle her face into his shoulder, letting his scent wash over her as the wind rippled through her hair and rushed past their skin.

Pressing a kiss to the top of her head, he was silent for a moment. She enjoyed the feeling of his hand caressing her back through the material of her shirt. Finally, he sighed and said, “Zuko’s family has a cabin by one of the lakes at the southern tip of Capital Island, and he offered to let us use it for the week—he said that there isn’t much around the area except for vacation cabins belonging to other Fire Nation nobility. I thought it was probably our best shot at actually getting some privacy.”

“Oh,” she said, first surprised that he gave in, then interested in his choice of location. “Okay! That sounds _perfect_ , we can—“ she stopped suddenly, pulling away from their embrace enough to look at him. “Wait. Did you tell everyone where we’re going?”

He looked at her questioningly. “Yes… is that a problem?”

She groaned, giving him a playful shove, “ _That_ ’s why they were all there! They were making fun of us for going on a week long sex vacation.”

Aang’s expression was frozen for a moment, and then he began to laugh at her hypothesis. “I’ll take the opportunity to say goodbye to my friends,” he said, deciding to go along with it.

“Sokka’s going to eat you when we get back,” she teased.

“Sokka’s been away from his girlfriend for a while too,” Aang reminded her. He placed his arm around her back once again, pulling her in close to him even as she gagged at the implications of his statement. He added, “So let’s not worry about Sokka right now.”

“Sorry,” she said, cuddling back into his side, “I just felt like everyone was being so weird this morning.”

“It’s been a long three days,” he insisted, sliding his hand under the hem of her shirt to rest on her bare hip, just beneath her cinched belt. She sighed at the contact, relaxing against him, and he grinned. “Don’t fall asleep on me, though,” he joked, “Part of why I told you where we’re going is that it’s such a short flight.”

“I know,” she responded as she all but curled up in his lap, her eyes drifting shut where she rested her face against his chest.

* * *

The next thing she knew, Aang was shaking her awake gently, murmuring her name softly. “Wake up, Sweetie. We’re here.”

She gasped, sitting straight up. “I missed the view coming in,” she said. 

“I’ll fly you back up just so you can see what it looks like coming down, if you want,” he told her softly as she leaned around him to look over the landscape. Down on the ground, the lake looked absolutely massive compared to what she remembered from times they’d flown over in the past; it extended out into the distance, farther than she could see. The water was so beautiful, crystal blue, and she felt in her bones the need to dive in. Around the lake’s edge, the grass was green and lush, sprouting wildflowers here and there. Behind them, massively tall trees formed a thick forest, and beside them was the royal Fire Nation family’s property.

“This is a _cabin_? Zuko said this was a cabin?” She asked, surveying the massive wooden building as she instinctively wrapped her arms tightly around Aang’s torso. 

Grabbing ahold of her as well, he lowered them to the ground gracefully. Behind them, Appa grumbled, and Aang stopped to pet him as Katara pulled away, eager to get a closer look.

It _was_ somewhat less ornate than their Ember Island vacation house, but it was still massive. A set of stone steps led up to a wooden deck covered by an awning, presumably to keep the heat of the sun away. Beyond the wooden deck, a tall wooden door barred the entrance to the “cabin.” After a moment, Katara could feel Aang’s footsteps approaching, and then his strong arms wound around her waist from behind.

“I suppose this is considered quaint for the Royal family,” Aang said jokingly, leaning down to kiss the tip of her ear. “Should we go inside?”

Once inside, it was obvious that it _was_ more rustic than any other Royal property she’d been to; it was also obvious that it had hardly ever been used. Inside, there were no pictures of any family or memories, no art or decorations on the walls (aside from banners with the Fire Nation emblem). Katara wondered briefly how many generations old this cabin was, who had even been Fire Lord when it was acquired by the family. Then they reached the bedroom, and Zuko’s ancestors were the furthest thing from her mind.

Surveying the room, she took in the windows that looked down at the lake, the gorgeous stone fireplace, and the bed that sat across from it, lined with pale blue satin sheets. Candles sat around the room on almost every available surface, from bedside tables to the dresser to the vanity to the fireplace mantle.

“I may have stopped here a bit before coming to the Palace, to clean everything up for us,” he admitted, “It was pretty dusty. I’m not sure the Royal family ever stayed here, honestly.”

“Aang,” she breathed, reaching for him. He took her into his arms easily as she squeezed his torso. She was still marveling over how tall and strong he’d gotten, especially now that they were alone. “I love you so much. This is perfect, I can’t wait to spend the whole week in bed with you.”

He raised an eyebrow at her, smirking. His lips looked so delicious then; she wanted to kiss that expression away, or maybe to just throw him onto the bed and sit on his face. Interrupting her thoughts, he asked, “Just in bed? What about the lake?”

She groaned, leaning her head forward until her forehead met his shoulder. “That too. Anywhere. Everywhere.”

When he dipped down to kiss the top of her head, she could feel the smile on his lips. “Let me just bring our things inside and take Appa’s saddle off and then we can go absolutely wherever you want, Sweetie,” he promised.

As he headed outside, Katara moved over to the window to look out at the massive lake below. A gentle wave rippled across its surface in time with Appa’s fur fluttering in the warm breeze. Below, she watched as Aang made his way to the bison and propelled himself atop his back to begin to unload the bags they had brought with them, lowering them to the ground delicately with well-directed bursts of air. Even from up here, her knees felt weak looking at the broad expanse of his muscular back as he leaned into Appa’s saddle. Though he had snuck into her room each of the four nights they had spent at the Fire Nation Palace together, during the day they had been surrounded by friends and dignitaries from two different nations, and it had been necessary to restrain herself to a certain degree. Now that they were alone, she felt irrationally impatient to have him as she had said, anywhere and everywhere. She had an entire week to enjoy his body on every surface in the cabin (and outside of the cabin), and right now all she could focus on was having him wrapped around her as soon as possible. As Aang worked on removing Appa’s saddle at the lakeside below, Katara stepped back from the window and quickly stripped her clothes off, fully intending to accost him out there before he could make his way back in with their belongings. Leaving her clothes at the foot of the bed, she made her way back downstairs and through the front door. His impressive form was still hunched over, working on the saddle with his back facing her. Still, he must have heard the front door as he greeted her when she stepped out onto the grass beyond the front steps leading up to the cabin. 

“Hi, Sweetie,” he called, turning to glance over his shoulder. He groaned when he spotted her strutting naked across the turf towards the lake’s edge. “ _Five minutes_ ,” he insisted, “then I’ll come join you.”

Even through the distance between them, she could see the way his silver eyes darkened. She pouted at him, hoping to sway his decision yet, but he just smirked before turning back around to focus on his bison’s saddle. Katara made her way to the rocky edge of the water without him, diving eagerly into the warm lake. When she resurfaced, both relieved and further frustrated now that she was surrounded by her native element, Appa’s saddle was on the ground and Aang was turned away from her, legs spread as he rose a massive earthen shelter from the ground. Appa roared appreciatively and rushed past him, eager to get some reprieve from the sun, and Aang laughed and ruffled his fur. Despite his constant insistence that she was the most important thing in the world to him, she knew that she would never be able to compete with Appa; that, she was okay with and couldn’t help but grin watching them now. Even in sensitive, vulnerable moments like the one she was witnessing, she still felt that he oozed sex appeal, perhaps even more so than usual. Something in her chest throbbed painfully when he bowed deeply at his bison, laughing loudly as he straightened back up. In that moment, she could see clearly the twelve year old she had fallen in love with so long ago despite his towering six foot plus figure. 

“Aang,” she called, drawing his attention back to her. She raised her eyebrows meaningfully, and then he had the nerve to wink at her before scooping their bags up and running inside. He was only gone for a moment, though, and when she heard the front door open again, she looked up and felt her chest tighten. He was running across the grass towards her, completely nude. As he dove into the lake, she expertly reflected the water last minute to avoid getting splashed as it rippled out towards her with massive force.

“Hi,” he greeted once his head bobbed above the water again.

Katara tackled him, but he reacted faster, laughing as he caught her, hands around her rear beneath the water. His eyes were full of mirth, but she leaned in and pressed her lips to his before he could joke around any further. Instantly, he softened against her, his tongue sliding into her mouth as she wrapped her legs around his waist. Reaching her arms around his neck, she tugged herself tightly to him, feeling his firm chest muscles against her breasts. They both groaned into each other at the contact, and his half-hard cock stirred against her center, the sensation amplified by the water around them, between them, everywhere. When she bucked against him, he slid one hand to her thigh to help support her and the other to her lower back, pressing his length against her opening.

Gasping, she pulled away from their kiss to look into his cloudy silver eyes. It felt like drowning in the best way, surrounded by her favorite element. “I want you,” she breathed.

“I can tell,” he responded with a grin. Even through the water, they could both feel in the easy way he slid between her wet lips how eager she was to be with him. In one smooth movement, he bent the water around them until they were at the rocky lake’s shore, and then bent a ledge out from the lakeside just at the height of his hips to rest her on.

“Then why aren’t you inside of me?” she insisted once they were settled, thrusting her hips against him again, all the more easy in their new position.

He laughed, low and deep, against her ear as he leaned in to kiss her jaw. “You’ve been _so_ impatient lately,” he murmured, nibbling at her earlobe. She shivered despite the warmth of the lake water around them. 

“I haven’t been able to get enough of you,” she admitted, angling her neck for him automatically, scratching her nails along his back. “Ever since you got back—well, before that, but particularly, since you got back—I can’t stop thinking about you and looking at you and every time I look at you I just…” 

“Get really wet?” he supplied under his breath as he reached between them, positioning his hard length against her entrance.

“ _Yes_ ,” she gasped, “Please, Aang.”

Slowly, he brought his hips forward until just the head of his cock entered her as his lips trailed down her neck. She whimpered above him, pleading incoherently. It was always such relief to come together like this, just to feel him inside of her, as if it were the way they were meant to be, the physical manifestation of their emotional and spiritual connection. Wiggling her hips, she bucked forward, causing him to slide just slightly deeper into her.

“Katara,” he groaned, laughing at her eagerness despite his own intense pleasure, her heels digging into his back. His warm breath tickled her neck and she sighed deeply.

Unable to wait any longer, she pulled at the water around his body so that he lurched forward into her, filling her completely. He lifted his head to look at her, his eyebrows raised despite the amusement (and heat) in his expression. “I tried saying please,” she said by way of explanation.

“What am I going to do with you?” he asked rhetorically, wonder in his shaking voice as he pulled back and then plunged forward into her once again. “It was bad enough when I was the one constantly focused on having you, now that you’re encouraging me…”

“You could fuck me,” she offered quietly, “As in, right now.”

His silver eyes sparkled dangerously, and he surveyed her features as she waited impatiently for his reaction. Finally, he leaned his head forward against her neck and began thrusting into her in earnest. She cried out at his sudden motion, her fingers gripping his neck and shoulder blade as she held her arms tightly around him. 

“Such _language_ ,” he panted against her in between hot, wet kisses that made her squirm, “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say that to me before.”

Katara whimpered as he filled her again and again, his hips snapping against hers through the water. It had been maybe 12 hours since the last time they had been together like this, but her need for him was just as intense as the day he had returned. Each time he entered her, a powerful wave of pleasure washed over her, and he moved so quickly and rhythmically that she was crying his name out within minutes. His hands held her in place at her hips as she melted against him.

“Maybe because we’ve never quite done this before,” he gasped into the crook of her neck, “Is this what you wanted?”

“Aang,” she groaned, then offered a quiet, “Shh.”

He chuckled, his hoarse voice cracking as he did. Something about it sent another wave of arousal washing over her, and she moaned again, louder this time, as he continued his motion. One of his hands slid to her back to hold her in place as the other moved to cup one of her breasts, gently rolling her nipple between his fingers. As he teased her breast, she began rocking her hips forward to meet him, moving in time with his thrusts.

“Please,” she begged softly.

“Please what, Sweetie?” he asked. She felt so good, so hot and tight and _wanting_ beneath him, and her walls were beginning to tremble around him. 

“More,” she added pleadingly.

He grinned, removing his hand from her breast to support himself against the rock ledge. Using it for leverage allowed him to increase his speed, and he began pulling out further, until just the tip of his cock was inside her, before driving himself back in again. “Good?” He asked, his voice a hoarse whisper.

Her response was incomprehensible as she rutted against him, clinging to him desperately, her nails and heels sunk into his back. He could tell that she was getting close when her thighs began to quake on either side of his hips, causing him to groan against her neck. With each thrust, her breasts swayed against his chest, and he could feel her hard nipples with each brush of their skin. 

“Katara,” he murmured, lining her neck with wet, teeth-filled kisses. She shuddered in response to his rough, deep voice saying her name so passionately. The water rippled out in waves with the force of his motion as he drove himself into her again and again. Her legs tightened around him, holding him closer, until he was merely rocking against her, unable to do much else. She cried out each time he filled her, feeling herself climbing closer and closer to her peak until finally, her walls began convulsing around his hard length as she mewled his name repeatedly. He followed close behind, moaning deeply as he buried himself inside of her, his orgasm hitting him with wave after wave of pleasure as her muscles continued to seize around him until his cock twitched for the last time, spent.

“Katara,” he gasped again, pulling apart despite her whines of protestation in order to look her in the eyes. Her face was red, her eyes dark and lidded with both exhaustion and remaining lust. He sighed as he pushed her wet hair out of her face. “You are so amazing,” he added, running a thumb over her flushed cheek as he caressed her.

She leaned into his touch with a pleased hum. “I love you, “ she told him, watching the way his eyes shimmered in response.

“I love you so much,” he breathed, dipping closer to press a gentle kiss to her lips. “Sweetie, where did all of this come from?”

“I guess we’re just growing up,” she admitted, her deep blue eyes fixed on his. “I… thought about you a lot while you were gone, especially when I was trying to sleep at night.”

His eyes grew hazy as he imagined her lying in bed with one hand between her legs and one touching her breasts, thinking about being with him. Grinning at his reaction, she ran her hands over the muscles of his chest, then his stomach, feeling him shiver beneath her touch.

“This didn’t hurt either,” she added with a wink, “But I just want you differently now. Do you feel it too? I feel like I just can’t get enough of you. I want you again right now,” she sighed.

“Katara,” he said again, reverently, running a hand over the gentle dip of her waist, the soft line of her ribcage, before gripping her shoulder comfortingly. “I’ve always felt that way about you, but it’s gratifying to have you feel the same way.”

Sighing, she leaned in to kiss his jaw and then his lips, taking a moment to enjoy the familiar, pleasant taste of his mouth. As his tongue slid between her lips, she felt him begin to harden against her once again and pulled away with a grin, shifting her hips teasingly. “Are you sure? You seem ready for round two awful fast—faster than usual.”

He laughed, leaning forward until his forehead rested against her own. “You too,” he murmured, “And I’m always ready whenever you are.” She groaned at his cheesy line, then at the way he kissed the side of her mouth softly, tenderly, as if she were something precious. She moved her hips again and he whispered her name against her lips. “Sweetie… were you trying to tell me that you touched yourself thinking about me while I was gone?”

Their faces were so close that he could feel the heat radiating from her cheeks. “Who else would I think about?” she teased.

Bucking his hips against her own, he hummed in pleasure at this revelation. “What exactly did you think about?” he asked, voice barely more than a whisper.

“What do _you_ think about?” she countered with a grin.

“I’ll tell you if you want,” he breathed, running his hand over her hip. She shifted under his touch, the friction between them drawing a low moan from them both. When she didn’t answer and only waited breathlessly, her eyes on his, he slid his hand around to grip her ass, drawing her closer. She sighed happily in response. “I was thinking about coming here with you. I knew we’d end up in the lake together, but I thought it would take more than fifteen minutes after we got here,” he teased, “But I was also thinking the kitchen counter, the shower… maybe even the woods.”

She giggled, but the way she moved against him, her warm, wet lips sliding against his arousal, caused them both to shiver. “I wasn’t so ambitious—I was just thinking of the bed, though I didn’t know there would be a fireplace.”

“Tell me,” he begged, his fingers tightening around her plump rear. She sighed heavily in pleasure.

“I thought about you touching me, and…” she said quietly, and then paused to lick her lips.

“And?” he asked with a grin.

“And… using your mouth,” she added, her cheeks flushing, “I really love when you do that.”

His cock twitched in interest against her, causing her to smile radiantly. Aang took a moment to appreciate how stunning she looked, red and sweaty and come undone in his arms. “Me too,” he admitted softly, “I love how you taste, Katara.” She shuddered against him at this admission, and he added, quietly, “ _I_ thought about that too, and the sounds you make… would you like me to do that now, Sweetie?”

Katara felt a fresh wave of arousal wash over her at his explicit offer. Though they had been intimate with each other for a couple of years now, they had never spoken to each other like this before, and it thrilled her to no end to hear his newly deepened voice say such dirty things to her, even more so that her intensified interest was the push that he needed for all of this desire to spill over. “Yes,” she breathed, “Where—”

Aang lifted her, and her question was interrupted in her surprise. She had her answer, in any case, when he set her down at the edge of the lake and spread her legs. He sighed, running two fingers through her wet lips. “You’re _so_ pretty,” he told her gently, leaning in to press a kiss to the soft mound of hair between her legs. Below his lips, he worked his fingers over her clit and then down to her entrance, where both of his fingers slid in easily. She could feel the size of his powerful, calloused hands against her and sighed happily, sliding a hand over the back of his head to hold him in place. 

His eyes darted up to her own, glittering silver, and he moved his hand away from her center to hook his arms under each of her thighs, hauling them over his shoulders. She wrapped her legs around his head appreciatively. With a wink that brought a fresh wave of heat to her center, he leaned his head in and pressed his tongue against her, dipping just slightly into her entrance before lapping his way slowly up her slit until he reached the tip, flicking his tongue there until she mewled and melted forward towards him. As he sucked gently at her, he removed one arm from around her leg to press two fingers back into her entrance. She sighed in satisfaction above him as her thighs’ grip on either side of his head tightened. He moved his tongue between her lips again and again, going from her entrance, stretched around his fingers, to her sensitive clit and back again. When he felt her muscles tighten in pleasure around his fingers, he moaned into her, his cock twitching against his stomach under the water’s surface. 

This was his favorite thing to do for her, and he’d do it every day if she wanted—he loved it almost as much as she did. The first time he had done this for her, they had both been too nervous to enjoy it. The time after that, though, had been much better, and when her juices splashed onto his face at her climax, he had actually come in his underwear, completely untouched. Though he was able to control himself much better now, he still immensely enjoyed the way she felt (and tasted) so intimately against his mouth and hands.

As he continued to swipe his tongue up and down her sensitive, wet folds, he could feel that she was getting closer, her smooth, tight muscles nearly quaking with pleasure around his digits. Above him, she called his name out as he added a third finger, and she began to thrust her hips forward, onto his fingers, into his face. He moaned into her again, absolutely consumed by her as he moved quickly, eager for her to reach her peak. Moments later, with one final cry, she was pulsing around him, her fluid gushing forward onto his hand, which he moved to lap up immediately. Her fingers gripped the back of his head, pressing him forward into her as she continued to quiver against him.

Once her muscles began to still around his fingers, he withdrew them slowly, resting his head on her inner thigh as he looked up to watch her face. She looked deeply satisfied, her face red and her eyes closed in bliss as she tried desperately to catch her breath. Despite the fact that he was thoroughly aroused after that, Aang knew that he needed to talk to her still, eager to have a conversation about his other, more romantic daydreams for their future, and with her energy over the previous few days he was not sure when the next time he’d find her with such a look of satiation on her face would be. He gave her a moment, and when her harsh breathing began to even out, he ran a hand over her hip where he still held her, her legs swung over his back as he pressed a kiss to her inner thigh. 

“This wasn’t all I thought about,” he said gently, sighing happily as her hand slid over his cheek lovingly, “I _love_ being with you and I love making you feel good, but I couldn’t stop thinking about our future, either; I love you so much, Katara. I kept thinking about our future together in Republic City, about… the family that we’ll have one day.”

She eyed him mock-suspiciously despite the deep blush staining her cheeks. “Are you trying to get me pregnant? Because—”

“ _No_ ,” he said emphatically, laughing softly. When she didn’t laugh with him, he pressed another kiss to her thigh. He could still taste her there, sweet and tangy and musky, his favorite in the world. “Not yet, anyway. I’d like… I’d like to be able to be home more consistently, first.”

Katara watched him carefully, and he looked up at her openly as she did. “You’ve thought about this,” she realized.

“A lot,” he admitted, “Since before it was appropriate for me to be doing so, probably.” Both of them thought momentarily about the refugee couple whose baby Katara had delivered so many years ago, and her cheeks flushed even darker. “Haven’t you?”

“Of course I have,” she said softly, “I think about it a lot too, for better or for worse.”

“What does that mean?” he asked, looking up at her with furrowed brows.

“Aang,” she said, giving a small, humorless laugh. She tried to shift her thighs, but he held them still. “Sweetie… it’s a lot of pressure on me. It’s not your fault,” she told him gently, caressing his cheek, “But I do think about it a lot.”

He still looked confused. She wanted to massage the worry lines from his forehead and go back to the way they were only moments ago, but he seemed intent on discussing this then and there. “Katara, what are you talking about?” he asked carefully, his hands moving comfortingly over the curves of her hips.

“Sweetie,” she said again, “You know that at least one of our children has to be an airbender.”

“No,” he said slowly, watching her eyes, “I don’t know that. How long has this been bothering you?”

Her large, cerulean eyes stared at him as if he were being dense. “Since we were kids, Aang. What do you mean? If we don’t have an airbender—”

“I _know_ , Sweetie,” he cut her off, dislodging himself from between her legs to join her on the grassy lakeside. He sat facing her, concern written all over his features; it hurt her to have his normally bright silver eyes boring into her, so gray and sad. Reaching forward, he took her hands in his own as she shifted to face him as well. 

“Believe me, I’ve thought about all of that too. Katara, I’ve never expected you to repopulate the entire Air Nation; I don’t think it would be possible for us to have enough kids, even if they _were_ all airbenders.” She considered this as he traced hearts on the back of her hand with his thumb, thinking carefully about what he wanted to say before continuing, “I’ve given a lot to this world because of what happened, because I’m the Avatar and that’s what I have to do, but I decided a long time ago that this, you and I and our future family, is not something I’m willing to sacrifice.”

“Aang,” she said, her voice breaking through the tears in her throat.

“Sweetie, I just want that, to have a family with you. I don’t care if we have waterbenders or airbenders or non-benders; I just want them to be ours.” When he saw a tear run over her lash line and down her cheek, he sighed, reaching forward to wipe it away gingerly. “I wish you’d told me this was bothering you before,” he added softly, “I honestly didn’t think that… well, that you thought I was expecting that from you.”

“It’s not just you,” she countered, her deep blue eyes sparkling with unshed tears, “I think that’s what everyone expects.”

“I don’t care what everyone else expects,” he told her, giving her hand a squeeze, “This is just about you and me, and I don’t expect _anything_ from you. Sweetie… I’ve never seen our future as being about making as many airbenders as possible. I would be beyond happy if we had any children together.” When she still looked unsure, he offered, “One of the things I’ve thought about is how incredible it would be to raise a waterbender together. We could train as a family.”

He saw in her eyes the same vision that he had, of the two of them in a pond with a dark skinned, silver eyed, black haired child, passing water back and forth effortlessly between the three of them. That seemed to break the dam, and her tears finally spilled over, dripping down her red face. “I want that really badly, Aang,” she admitted, putting a massive grin on his face, “But it feels irresponsible. Maybe we should,” looking away, she paused briefly, swallowing the lump in her throat, “think about other options. The Air Acolytes—”

“Katara,” he warned, wincing, “Please don’t go there. It’s hard for me to even think about. You have to know that I could never do that… Is that why you were jealous of them?” 

Ignoring his question, she pursed her lips. “But Aang—”

“I’ve made up my mind about what I want,” he said firmly, his grey eyes locked steadily on her own, “I don’t want this to be a factor in our discussion.”

Her eyes searched his face, confused. “What discussion?”

“Our discussion about our future family,” he insisted, leaning in slightly as he spoke, imploring her to understand; she still looked puzzled, though she leaned in as well, matching his movement.

“What are you talking about?” she asked gently, tilting her head in bemusement, “Where did this come from?”

“I thought I was pretty clear,” he half-joked, scooting forward until their knees were slightly overlapped, “Do you want me to share more of my fantasies with you? I have plenty. Sometimes I think about just standing back and watching you play-spar with our little waterbender. I don’t know why, but I always imagine her as a girl,” he admitted.

“Aang,” she whispered, squeezing his hand. Something about his daydreams of their future daughter both warmed her heart and relit the fire deep in her gut; she knew it must have been reflected in her eyes when he grinned at her. “That sounds incredible.”

“Does it?” he asked, leaning in further without thinking, “Is that what you want?”

“Of course,” she breathed, meeting him the rest of the way to press a soft, quick kiss to his lips, “More than anything.”

Before she knew what was happening, he was lifting her and then he was on his feet; she wound her legs around his waist, her arms around his neck instinctively as his hands went to support the backs of her thighs.

“Aang?” she asked, gasping at their sudden change in positions. He began making his way towards the cabin.

“Let’s go inside, Sweetie,” he murmured. She was about to protest that she didn’t have much of a choice with him carrying her until he kissed her neck, and then her mind went blank. “I love you so much,” he breathed into her ear, carrying her through the front door, “I’ll be happy no matter what as long as I have you.”

Her breath tickled his temple when she sighed. Sometimes she resented the way he was always able to make her worries seem smaller than they felt, but most of the time, especially then, she admired it and found it to be one of the only things that could bring her down once she was wound up about something. He had made it seem so simple: that he could just be hers, that they could just have a family. 

Pressing wet, hot, open-mouthed kisses to her neck, Aang carried her up the stairs easily and through the door of the bedroom. He had felt somewhat nervous and foolish earlier on the flight there, cursing himself as Katara slept for being unable to come up with any sort of grand gesture or romantic plans worthy of her for his proposal. Now, he felt silly for worrying about that; as she melted in his arms under his attention, he felt that anything more would just be a distraction from his true commitment to her and the depth of his love for her. He set her down gently on the bed, lying her head against the pillows. As he had predicted, she looked like an angel against the ice blue sheets, her wild, half-wet hair fanned out behind her, her exposed dark tan skin in perfect contrast with the bedding, looking up at him expectantly.

“I have something for you,” he said gently, “Give me a minute.”

She watched curiously as he moved over to their bags, stacked neatly in the corner of the room, and dug through one, his back turned to her, before evidently locating the object he was after. When he turned around, he was holding a deep blue jewelry box.

“Aang,” she breathed, her eyes wide as she watched him, “What is that?”

“Sweetie,” he began softly, sitting down on the bed facing her, “If we’re going to live together officially, and… and start our lives together, I want to do this the right way, and I wanted to do it in a way that honors your culture and your heritage. At this point Republic City is just as much your project as mine, but the new air temple… it means so much to me that you want to invest your time and energy into that with me.” 

He paused, considering how he wanted to present the necklace to her, though he was sure by the look in her eyes and the tears welling there that she knew exactly what was inside the box in his hands. It was such a simplistic gesture for such a complicated relationship; he felt compelled to explain himself before revealing it to her. He continued, “I know that this is more of a Northern tribe tradition and that the original intention behind it is… well, not how I view our relationship, but I wanted to do something for you that reflected where you grew up and where you came from. You don’t have to wear it if you don’t want to—I definitely didn’t intend for it to be anything possessive and I don’t care who else sees it, and I know how important your mom’s necklace is to you.”

She sat up, already beginning to move her hair to one side to undo the clasp on her mother’s necklace at the back of her neck. Once it was removed, she held it in her hands and looked at him with rapt attention. Gently, he opened the blue velvet box and presented the choker to her. It looked just like her mother’s: the band had been cut from similar material and it had the same clasp mechanism on each end. However, the stone that hung from the center was a shining blue opal engraved with three spirals—the Air Nation symbol.

“Aang,” she gasped as her tears began to flow, “It’s so beautiful. Of course I’ll wear it.”

“What about your mom’s necklace?” He asked, concerned; he had not intended for her to stop wearing that one and did not want to separate her from the one thing that she kept with her to remind her of her mother.

“I’ll put it away for now—maybe we can give it to our little waterbender one day and tell her about her Gran Gran,” she said, dabbing at her tears as they rolled down her cheeks.

“I would really love that,” he whispered as he leaned in to kiss away the last tear running down her face, feeling her cheeks flush beneath his lips. When he pulled back, he delicately removed the necklace from the jewelry box and held it up. “Turn around, Sweetie.” 

She did so, shifting in front of him until she was sitting up with her back to him. He carefully reached around her neck, moving the ribbon under her thick curtain of hair to latch it closed. Once he was done, she turned around and surprised him by climbing into his lap, one knee on either side of his legs. Then, she was embracing him tightly, her arms squeezing around his neck as she buried her face into his shoulder.

“I love you, Katara,” he purred into her ear.

“I love you too,” she sighed, then paused a moment. Aang massaged her tense back with his broad hands, and she relaxed under his touch. Finally, she continued, “I wasn’t sure if you wanted to actually get married.”

“What?” he asked, startled, and his sudden reaction caused her to sit up, lifting her head from his shoulder so that they were eye-to-eye. “Why wouldn’t I? What do you mean?”

“Well, I know that it’s not really something that the Air Nomads did,” she explained, her face flushing, “And… I sort of expected this to come up around your sixteenth birthday. When you didn’t bring it up then, I just figured you didn’t want to.”

He looked somewhat embarrassed, gazing down to avoid her eyes and then away when he realized that he was staring at her chest, causing his cheeks to turn even redder. “It just wasn’t the right time, Sweetie,” he said quietly, “I didn’t realize you—“

“I wasn’t upset,” she insisted, then admitted, “Well, maybe a little, but I was never upset _with_ you. I’ve never doubted that you want to spend the rest of your life with me, too.”

“I do. I want to do whatever you want to do,” he told her, running his nails gently over her back. “I know that there isn’t really the same level of tradition surrounding weddings in the Southern Tribe, but—“

She narrowed her eyes at him. “And how do you know that, exactly?” She asked. 

When he felt his face turn red, he knew there was no point in trying to hide the truth. “I might have asked your dad for his blessing before I left with the Acolytes.”

Katara stared at him in shock, quickly evaluating every interaction she’d had with her father over the past six months while her and Sokka had been living with him. “That’s why he was so weird and supportive when I told him we were moving in together! I can’t believe he managed to keep that from me for so long,” she said.

“He thought you’d be mad,” he told her, leaning closer to rest his forehead on her own. She sighed happily against him.

“I think it’s really sweet that you put so much effort into trying to be respectful. I bet my dad appreciated the gesture,” she said softly, “But you and I both know that we don’t need anyone else’s permission to get married.”

He smiled at her confidence and independence, and for a moment they sat there, embracing, enjoying the feeling of being in one another’s arms. Finally, he whispered, “I can’t wait to start introducing you to everyone as my wife, the master waterbender.”

“I love it,” she said, grinning.

“I want everyone to know how I feel about you,” he murmured, “I don’t want anyone calling you ‘the Avatar’s girlfriend’ anymore. You’re my partner, my world. My future.”

She was amazed at the depth and completeness of his expression of his love for her. While he was an incredible and attentive lover, he was also her best friend and confidant, the one person in the world who she knew that she could go to with anything. Their connection was so innate, so absolute. She loved the way they flowed together, the way their intimacy was able to move between sexual and familial in moments. He _was_ her family; she wanted to raise her children with him. In all the time she had tried to deny the realities of the situation, she had never questioned that. 

“You’re going to be a really good dad,” she told him, leaning back from their embrace just enough to look at him as tears welled in her eyes again. His face absolutely lit up in response to her compliment.

“Do you think so?” he asked excitedly, his own eyes glistening.

“ _One day_ ,” she teased, “I really do.”

“That means a lot to me,” he murmured, wiping the tears from his eyes before they could drop, “I’m scared. I don’t—I’ve never… well. It’ll be new to me. When it’s time.”

“I know,” she said gently, “But you’re so compassionate and loving, and kids adore you.”

“Kids adore me because _I’m_ a kid,” he joked.

“No,” she answered, running a hand down his chest, “You’re definitely not a kid anymore, Aang.”

He sighed as her hand trailed through the thin patch of hair above his half-hard cock. “My mouth still tastes like you,” he whispered to her, savoring the way her cheeks flushed in response, “I really, really enjoyed that earlier.”

“Did you?” she asked, the corners of her lips beginning to turn up, “I didn’t get a chance to reciprocate. Maybe we could do something else instead,” she said, shifting her hips over his quickly hardening length, causing him to sigh.

“Anything you want, Sweetie,” he promised her once again. For a moment, he expected her to simply lower herself onto him right there. Instead, she smirked and climbed off of him, off the bed, stepping onto the floor. He watched curiously as she strutted over to the vanity in the corner of the room. Carefully moving the couple of lit candles there to the dresser, she made her way back over, pushed the stool to the side, and leaned over the counter of the vanity, her face against the mirror, her plump ass waving in the air behind her. “Katara,” he moaned, promptly joining her there. “You’re so sexy... Are you sure this is how you want—”

“Yes,” she insisted, cutting him off as she looked up at him in the mirror. He could see her reflection clearly, from her big blue eyes to her flushed cheeks to her new necklace, the one he had given her, hanging from her neck. When he looked down, he could see the delicate curve of her spine beneath her skin, and he gently caressed her back, running his hand down to rest on her curvy hips. He looked back up and found her grinning as she watched him. “What do you think?”

“I think you’re incredible,” he breathed, reaching his hand between them to run his fingers along her folds. Surprised by her slickness, the way his fingertips slid easily through the wetness already collected there, he moaned, “Oh, Katara…”

“Please,” she begged, pressing her hips back against him. With a reverent sigh, he placed his hands on her hips again to hold her steady and pushed forward. His cock slipped in easily, and within a second, he was buried completely inside of her. In the mirror, he could see the way her jaw dropped slightly, her mouth open in shock at the sudden rush of pleasure, and her reflected dark blue eyes met his, desperate. Gripping her hips tightly to keep her from getting bruised on the edge of the vanity desk, he pulled back before plunging forward, sinking himself into her once more. She groaned loudly, rocking back against him, her eyes transfixed on him in the mirror.

“Do you like this? Maybe we should get a mirror in our bedroom,” he asked, huffing with each thrust. She tried to glare at him but soon had her eyebrows furrowed in pleasure again. “We could hang it on the ceiling over the bed,” he offered.

“Aang,” she warned shakily, gripping the back of the vanity’s desk for balance as he slammed his hips into her own, “Don’t tease.”

“I’m not,” he replied with a grin, “I’d love that.”

Her eyes closed, then, and he leaned forward as he continued to fill her over and over in order to press a kiss to her soft back. When she sighed heavily beneath him in approval, he moved his hands to rest on either side of her shoulders, supporting some of his weight as he leaned forward to kiss her neck. Running his tongue lightly along the nape of her neck, he listened for her little gasps of air as she rocked forward each time he pressed into her. Nothing drove him crazy quite like her sounds of pleasure; when he nibbled at the base of her neck and she moaned, his cock twitched inside of her, which only caused her to moan louder.

“Sweetie,” he gasped, moving one of his hands to hers, where she clutched the back of the vanity, in order to intertwine their fingers. A drop of sweat pooled along her neck and he lapped it away, grinning when she shivered beneath him. Her eyes fluttered open and looked up to his, catching him staring at her through their reflection. “That necklace looks so beautiful on you,” he whispered against her ear. 

“Aang,” she whined, moving her hips back against his own, her eyes pleading with him in the mirror, “This feels so good.”

“ _So_ good,” he purred into her neck. She was so warm and slick, and he could feel the way her inner muscles were beginning to quiver and pulse around him every time he filled her. “Are you going to come for me, Sweetie?”

She whimpered unintelligibly, urging him to speed up his thrusts. Groaning encouragingly, she buried her head between her arms.

“I want to see your face when you come, Katara,” he told her gently. She looked up in shock to see him smirking at her just as he pushed her over the edge, and then she was moaning uncontrollably as her walls spasmed and throbbed around him, her eyes staring at him with wonder. Still aroused from earlier, this added sensation was all he needed to reach his release as well. He groaned, burying his face in her neck as he rode out his climax, buried deep inside of her.

Once they had both stilled, he glanced up at her in the mirror. She was already looking at him with rosy cheeks and a wide smile. Placing one more kiss along her throat, he gingerly stood up, pulling out of her as he went. She straightened up as well and stretched, allowing him to watch the way her back arched and her breasts stuck out as she did so. 

“I can’t believe you,” he said with a grin, wrapping his arms around her to scoop her up mid stretch. She squealed in surprise but allowed him to carry her over to the bed, pull back the covers, and settle her on the bed sheets before climbing in beside her. “I don’t know if I’m going to be able to keep up with you all week,” he joked, sighing dramatically.

She giggled as she cuddled against his broad, muscular chest, relaxing when his hand went to rest on the small of her waist. “You should’ve thought about that before you invited me away for a _whole week_ in _complete privacy_.”

“I had no idea what I was getting into,” he admitted, gazing at her with admiration, then asked, somewhat hopefully, “Do you have any other specific ideas for us?”

“Well,” she began thoughtfully, “I was thinking tomorrow we could try... if I laid across the dining table and you stood at the end and—” she paused, flushing, “I guess that part’s up to you.”

“Mmmh,” he growled playfully, leaning in to nip at her neck. She squirmed slightly against him, allowing them to cuddle closer. “Is that breakfast in the morning?”

She laughed, then, loudly and fully, no longer flirtatious, just Katara. He leaned his head against her temple to hide the size of his grin. “I’m not sure that counts as vegetarian,” she pointed out once her laughter had subsided.

He chuckled at that himself; the deep sound made any remaining mirth fall from her face as she shivered. “I think you’re worth the exception, Sweetie. I’m looking forward to it.”

“Me too,” she agreed. Once again, she tried to stretch, extending her back and legs, which caused her to yawn. “Mmh, what do you think about a little nap?”

“I think you’ve drained me,” he teased, “And I could definitely use one.”

Leaning back enough to catch his gaze, she smiled, her ocean blue eyes shining in the lights of the many candles around the room. Then she flipped over so that her back was to him, and her frame tucked neatly against his own, the perfect little spoon. He wrapped his arm around her, resting his hand gently against her ribcage; her heart hammered beneath his touch, but quickly began to slow as she relaxed into their embrace. Burying his nose into the top of her head, he shut his own eyes. His last thought before drifting off was of how incredibly lucky he was to finally be betrothed to the love of his life, to finally be able to give them both somewhere, someone, to call home.

  
  
  



End file.
